Sekirei Lifestyle
by neenuhz
Summary: first story. Minato slowly makes his way into the world of the Sekirei Plan. He goes from being a student to a lover and protector of Sekirei. The original story with twists and personality changes to Minato. Rated M for possible later chapters.
1. The First Meeting

** I've read other Sekirei fanfictions and I loved them, but I always saw things either slightly differently or wanted to just see some more going on. So, I decided to give it a shot. This is going to be my first fanfiction and I hope that all goes well so it is not my last.**

** I am going to try and keep all the characters as closely as I can to the original except for Minato. I want to make him slightly cooler and more like an average 20 year old guy surrounded by women. Also I will be keeping all of the background stories of all the characters the same and I will more or less follow the overall "Sekirei Plan", I'll just be throwing in a few twists here and there. **

**Reviews would be greatly appreciated and any help that you can offer will be great. Thanks!!**

**-neenuh**

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**The First Meeting**

**POV- Minato Sahashi**

'_Sigh… failed again, huh?'_ I thought to myself as I began making my way out of the crowd and away from the school, '_Mom's gonna bite my head off for this.' _I whipped out my phone and dialed my mother's number.

"Hey Mom, it's me."

"Minato, I can't really talk right now so make it quick."

"Ah, well the results from the entrance exams came out today…," I began.

"Sorry Minato! I can't really hear you, I'll have to call you later," mom said just before the phone beeped signaling that she had hung-up.

'_Well at least I don't have to worry about that for now.'_

With nothing else planned for the day, I decided not to go home quite yet and just walk around town. As I made my way through the downtown I couldn't help but notice all the couples everywhere. '_It must be nice having a girlfriend. I haven't had much time to really even think about it because I was studying so much. Well, that's not true,'_ I argued with myself,_ 'I've thought about it a million times, I've just never done anything about it.' _As I continued walking around, my mind remained in the clouds thinking about what my life would be like with a girlfriend. Of course I also had millions of dollars, a sports car and a full scholarship to the school of my dreams.

I stepped inside of a fast food place to pick up some dinner before I get home. While I waited I stared out the window looking at the street outside. At first everything was normal until I saw a woman in a tight purple dress fly down the side of a building with the ease and grace of a bird. Once she touched the ground she looked over her shoulder. I followed her gaze to the top of the building and saw as two more woman dressed as dominatrix make their way down from the top of the building and though it wasn't as graceful as the first woman they still landed without a scratch. Before I could even begin to try to make sense of what was going on in front of me a small hurricane of garbage appeared in the street and was headed directly at the two pursuers. I watched, frozen to the spot, hoping that the two women would be able to get out of the way of the garbage. They didn't move, however, and simply gritted their teeth as they braced themselves for the blow.

"MOVE!" I shouted, before I realized what I was doing.

The other customers in line all turned to stare at me, wondering what the hell was wrong.

"I uh… have personal space issues…" I said, shifting a little to the side.

Everyone just turned away and decided to ignore the crazy guy.

'_That was awkward,' _I thought to myself as I relaxed.

My head snapped around as I remember what caused my outburst. I looked out the window to where the two women were and they were gone. All that was left from that spot was garbage strewn across the sidewalk. I scanned the rest of the street to see if they had changed their minds and dodged it, but there was no sign of them. Nor was there any sign of the first woman. I sighed in disappointment as I acknowledged that I missed out on what could've been the most interesting to happen all day or maybe even all year.

I turned back around and stared at the menu in front of me. I hear the sounds from the street as they became loud and then quiet again as someone opened the door to the restaurant. Before I knew it someone bumped me. They were breathing heavily and held onto my arm to hold them self up. I turned preparing to give out a "personal space" speech when I see who it is. It was the first woman in the purple dress. I turned my body fully to face her, causing her hand to drop from my arm. "Uh, sorry but I think you grabbed my arm by mistake." I said, not entirely sure of what to do.

She looked up at me and gave me a smile.

"No, it wasn't a mistake. I needed to blend in and I saw that you were here by yourself so I figured I would come and join you." She said with a playful wink.

In other cases I would've just accepted it and gone along without asking questions fearing that it would drive her away. However, considering what I had witnessed my curiosity was burning.

"Blend in?" I asked.

She took a step closer to me as she explain, "Yeah, I was being chased by some people and I don't really want to deal with them now."

"Oh…"

"Is it alright?" She asked, looking up at me through her lashes.

'_Damn, she's cute,'_ I thought.

"Is what alright?"

"Can I stay here with you for now?" She asked, her voice clear with sincerity.

"Oh! Um yeah, of course." _'I would have to be an idiot to say no,' _I thought. "Are you hungry?"

Before she could even respond her stomach growled loudly, her cheeks turned a light red as she giggled.

"Yeah I guess I am hungry."

I ordered food for the both of us and sat down at the table that she had picked. We ate in a comfortable silence as day slowly turned to night.

"That was great! Thank you… what is your name?"

"I'm Sahashi Minato."

"Well Minato-kun, thank you."

"No problem," I said as we walked outside, "Do you live nearby?"

"Oh yes, very close," she answered.

"Do you, uh, need me to walk you home?" I asked carefully, not wanting to sound like a stalker.

"Oh no, I'll be fine." She turned to walk away.

"Wait! I didn't get your name.."

She turned back around smiled at me.

"My name is Kazehana." She winked playfully.

A gust of air came up and shot in my direction. I put my arm up to cover my eyes and when I put it back down she was gone.


	2. Seo: A Friend?

Seo: A Friend?

A few days after meeting Kazehana, I decided to just give up on expecting to see her everywhere and just continue on with my life. After having my mom yell at me on the phone for failing again and saying that she was going to cut down my allowance, I figured I should pick up a job. I called my old boss at the construction company to see if he could use any help on their new job. Thankfully hwe as kind enough to say I could come down and work. Either it was out of kindness or he just plain pitied me.

As I walked out of my apartment and made my way towards the construction site my mind wandered back to those women. '_Who the hell were those women chasing Kazehana?'_ I've probably asked myself this question a hundred times by now, but still haven't gotten any answers. A voice interrupted my thoughts.

"Hikari, you really shouldn't still be surprised by this."

"I CAN'T HELP IT! That bastard of an Ashikabi always makes things worse." A second voice said.

Before I could even turn around to put faces to the voices, I was bumped as a pair of women walked right passed me.

"Sorry," one of them said as they stopped and bowed at me confirming that she belonged to the first voice.

"Oh, no worries," I said as a conditioned reaction.

With a quick nervous smile the woman turned away chasing after her friend, "Hikariii!!!"

I followed her as she caught up to her friend and then it hit me.

It was them.

It was the two who were chasing after Kazehana.

Before I even knew it, I had decided to follow them to figure out just who they are.

* * *

After about 10 minutes they had reached their destination, which turned out to be the same as mine. We were at the construction site. _'What the -?Why are they coming here?'_ I continued to follow them but a bit more carefully now that we were off the main road.

"Ah, Minato!! Right on time!" came a booming voice off to the side.

The manager of the construction site stepped out of his office and hurried over to me.

'_Damn,'_ I thought, as the manager rounded me up by placing his arm on my shoulder.

"Alright Minato, the set-up and operation is pretty much as it was the last time you worked with us," the manager began.

I craned my neck to look over his shoulder to follow the two women.

"…a basic 4 story office building complete with…"

The two stopped just a little ways ahead, looking left and right to figure out which way to go.

"Anyways, Minato," manager said, getting my attention again, "just look around and find someone who can use your help. Clock out is at 8." The manager patted me on the shoulder before he walked back towards his office.

I turned back down the walkway only to find that the two had disappeared.

"Damnit," I muttered before running down there.

I reached the point at which I last saw them and without hesitation turned right and continued down, hoping that the two mysterious women had done the same. There was no sign of them anywhere.

I take a good look around me both on the ground and on top of the buildings around me, thinking that if they were capable of flying down a building without getting hurt chances are they go up on buildings all the time.

"You lost?"

I looked to see a man standing right in front of me. He had an easygoing look about him as he had a cigarette in his mouth and was twirling his hammer in his hand.

"Ah, I'm just looking around to see where I could help out." I answered.

"Oh so you're the new guy that manager was talking about? Excellent, I could use some help on installing the window panels on the first floor. I'm Seo." He held out his hand covered in dirt.

I took his hand and shook it as I replied, "I'm Minato."

"Well, Minato, let's get to work."

Seo lead the way through the construction zone to the parts of the building that were mostly completed. I told him about how I just became a second year ronin and that I could use the money to get by til I can take the entrance exam again. He told me how he is well into his sixth year of being a ronin, but it doesn't bother him at all because he keeps himself busy with other things. Though he was pretty vague he was cool to talk to and it made the work day go by pretty quickly.

Before long it turned 8 and Seo and I made our way out of the site.

"See ya tomorrow Minato," Seo said as he went left and I went right.

"THERE YOU ARE!"

I looked up to see exactly who I expected to see.

The women were standing there at the end of the block, one of which had already began running down towards Seo and I.

"SEO, hurry get outta here!" I yelled as I started backing up.

Seo didn't move however and just grinned as the woman got closer and closer.

"What could you be angry abo-"

***WHACK***

Seo's sentence was cut short as the woman's foot made contact with his head. I took some more steps back, not wanting to leave Seo there alone, but not wanting to be so near such a scary person.

"DID YOU GO GAMBLING AGAIN ?!"The woman shouted as Seo began to stand back up.

"Heh," Seo laughed as he rubbed the growing bump on his head, "I had a tip, I couldn't just ignore it."

"Yes you could've!"

"Now now, Hikari," the second woman said as she finally approached them, " how long is it going to take you to realize that that is just the way that Seo is?"

"Yeah, thanks Hibiki," Seo commented, with absolutely no shame.

Hikari sighed and put on a sad face.

"What are we supposed to do for dinner tonight?"

"Of course we will be going to the Izumo House!" Seo exclaimed, smiling from ear to ear.

"Baka! We can't keep going there and eating all their food. Not to mention that lady is scaAary." Hibiki said, mimicking Hikari's facial expression.

"W-wait, Seo, you know these women?!" I exclaimed after witnessing their banter.

"Of course, kid!" Seo said throwing an arm around each of them, "they're my women."

I waited as Seo recovered from the hit that comment earned him.

"Why are they after Kazehana-san?" I blurted

Seo stopped nursing his wounds and gave me a serious look.

"You're not an- are you?" Seo took a step forward and sniffed the air around me, "oh no, you're not. Um, ladies, do you want to explain to him why you were after Kazehana?"

"Well… er…" Hikari began.

"We were playing a game," Hibiki stated, "it's actually a long story but a lot of us play it."

"A game? You seriously want me to believe that a bunch of adults are running around town playing a game?" I asked in disbelieve.

"Yeah, kid, there really is a long story behind it and we aren't allowed to talk about it with anyone outside the group."

I stood there and stared at them, trying to figure out whether they were being serious or not. Oddly enough, they seemed as serious as could be.

"Alright, fine, don't tell me everything. I just want to make sure that nothing bad is going to happen to her."

"Eh? Does she mean that much to ya kid?" Seo asked getting a perverted look on his face.

"It's nothing like that! She just…," I paused not really knowing what to say next.

"Don't worry kid, nothing bad is going to happen. Just a game amongst friends. " Seo stated as he walked by me, "maybe one day you'll be able to join in."

I watched as the two women hurried to catch up to Seo. _'Join in?'_

"Hey kid, hurry up if you wanna join us for dinner!"


	3. Izumo House Dinner Party

**Sorry, about this chapter. It is a bit of a filler chapter, but I wanted to make sure I have**

**enough options for Minato's first Sekirei. Expect the story to pick up from the next chapter,**

** though it may be a long one. Thanks for all of the reviews so far, it really is appreciated.**

**Hope you enjoy!**

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**Izumo House Dinner Party**

"Are you sure that it is okay for me to come?" I asked Seo as hailed a taxi to take us across town.

"Oh yeah, there's nothing to worry about."

"What are you talking about Seo? There's a scary landlady there!" Hibiki said, giving Seo a look.

"Yeah, but since we are already heading over there I'm sure she wouldn't mind having one more person over. Not to mention she has picked up after her husband to always help out those in need, or something like that, and who needs more than a failing college student who can't make anything other than instant noodles." Seo said calmly as he crossed his arms.

I sighed hoping that this won't end up being a crazy night.

* * *

***DING-DONG***

I stood there nervously waiting for this supposed scary landlady to show up. Luckily Seo was standing in the front right behind the door because the moment the door was opened…

***WHACK***

"Don't ring the doorbell when it is night time. What if someone was sleeping?" said the beautiful lady who opened the door holding a ladle in her hand.

"Tch, who would be asleep at a time like this? Clearly it's time to eat." Seo said as he made his way towards the door.

***SLAM***

"Really, inviting yourself into someone else's house. Tsk tsk ts. Such a shame that Takehito had such useless trash as a friend." The lady said as she tripped Seo & whacked him again with the ladle. I couldn't help but laugh as I watch Seo hit the ground.

"Ah, and who is this that you have dragged along with you?"

I looked to see the lady smiling down at me. For some reason that smile made me nervous.

"My name is Sahashi Minato," I said giving a bow.

"He works with me at the construction site," Seo said dusting himself off and leaning against the doorframe," He just failed his college entrance exam and his allowance got cut so he's kind of in a tight pinch. I figured you could help him out."

'_Ah shit I don't want her to be mad at me' _

"I didn't mean to intrude," I began, " Seo-san just told me to come along for dinner and I didn't think that we would just be dropping in on you or else I would've just sa-"

The lady had stepped forward and placed a finger on my lips.

"My husband never turned someone who needs help away, and neither shall I." She lowered her hand, "However, I will advise you to stay away from this man. He is truly trash." She smiled.

I laughed nervously as her smile gave me chills.

"My name is Miya and I am the landlady of this house. Now, I guess there's no helping it. Let's go inside for dinner… and Seo," the lady said turning to him, "don't worry because there will be plenty of chores for you to do after dinner."

Seo seemed to tremble for a moment before making his way inside the house after the landlady, after him followed Hibiki and Hikari as I pulled up the rear.

"Who was at the door?" called a voice from another room.

"We have some guests over for dinner. Tell Uzume to grab some extra place settings."

"yeah yeah…"

"Go ahead and take a seat," Miya said as we entered the dinning room, "I'll go make sure everything is fine in the kitchen."

"Ah, let us help you!" Hibiki said, grabbing Hikari by the arm, "it's the least that we could do to make up for our ashikabi." The three of them walked out of the room and left Seo and I alone in the room.

"Ashikabi?" I asked.

"Oh, well, it's a nickname I got," Seo said scratching his head, " ya know, from the rest of the people in the 'game'. I'd explain it to ya, kid, but it's just too much to bother with," he finished with a wave of his hand.

I was going to ask more about it, but I felt a strange vibe in the room, as though I was being watched. I looked around, but saw nothing though the feeling wouldn't go away.

Seo chuckled. "Matsu, you wanna come out?"

Right behind me a girl appeared with her hair in braids and glasses sitting low on her face.

"Tch, Seo-san, you ruined my fun," the girl said, pouting her lips.

"Uh hi, I'm Sahashi Minato," I said as I got off of my chair and stood to look at her.

"I know, you have one sister and don't know anything about your father, you just failed your entrance exams for the second time..."

'_What the?'_

"How did you know that?"

"Uhh, lucky guess," she responded her glasses glinting as she adjusted them.

"Now Matsu, don't go creeping out our guests," Miya said as she emerged from the kitchen holding a dish of food.

"Yummm, you're in for a treat, kid, Miya here makes great food," Seo said already eyeballing the food.

Hibiki and Hikari came out carrying drinks for everyone, followed by a guy and girl carrying the extra place settings.

"Hey you must be Minato, I'm Uzume," said the girl after she placed a setting down for me at the table.

"and you can call me Kagari," said the guy placing down the other table settings.

"Hi Uzume-san, Kagari-san," I said giving them both a smile.

"Kuuu- no need to be so formal," Uzume said as she took a seat.

***Ring Ring***

"Ah, sorry, I'll take this in the other room," Kagari said and he flipped open his phone, "Mushi mushi…"

"Kagari is always busy," Miya sighed, "go ahead and start eating, he will join us when he is done."

Everyone began eating and taking part in regular dinner table conversation. Miya asked me about school and work and kept on warning me about Seo-san. Kagari had popped back into the room at some point saying he had to go and meet someone for drinks, but that he would be back soon. During the whole dinner, I tried to listen to the other conversations in order to figure out more about these people. Something just seemed so

After everyone had finished eating, we all retired into the living room to have some tea and desserts.

"Thanks for dinner," we all said to Miya as we all were seated nice and comfortably.

"It's alright, Minato. Besides, I have already gotten that trash to do some work for his actions," Miya said pointing to Seo who was fixing some cupboards in the kitchen.

"I'm home!" Kagari announced after slamming the front door shut, "I brought back a friend for some tea. We should be right on time, right?" Kagari walked into the room, looking pleased with himself.

"Just as I thought," he nodded, "Come on in."

Behind Kagari walked in someone I didn't imagine seeing here.

"Minato-kun!" Kazehana shouted.


	4. Enter the Game

*Author's Note*

Hey everyone! Thanks again for all the helpful reviews! Just wanted to say that I did try to make it to 5000 but I didn't want

to make it drag on, but I got pretty close! Please review again because your feedback is awesome!

Thanks!

-Neenuhz

* * *

**Enter the Game**

"Kazehana-san! Wh-what are you doing here?" I exclaimed, still not over the shock of seeing her.

"Well, Kagari and I were having drinks and then he told me that they were having guests over here so I thought I might as well tag along. I'm so glad that you are here though Minato-kun." Kazehana said giving me a hug. That snapped me out of whatever shock I was in as I hugged her back. I let go only to have her continue squeezing me against her chest. '_Damn, how great would it be to get this all the time_,' I thought to myself.

"Ah, Kazehana, how nice of you to join us," Miya said, "Kagari, can you help me in the kitchen?"

"Hai hai," Kagari said understanding that Miya wishes to talk with him.

Miya and Kagari walked into the kitchen, as the rest of us greeted Kazehana.

I gave a slight sigh in disappointment as Kazehana let me go and hugged the rest. Before she even thought about sitting down she went to a cabinet and whipped out a bottle of sake and shot glasses for everyone.

"Drinks for everyone!!"

+++Meanwhile, In the Kitchen+++

"So, Kagari," Miya began, "What is Kazehana really doing here? Was she the one that had called you?"

"mhmm," Kagari nodded as he twirled a cup on the counter top, "she is actually here for an interesting reason…"

"And that would be?"

"Minato."

"Explain."

"Well it's like this," Kagari began leaving the cup alone and leaning against the counter, "Last week, Hibiki and Hikari were chasing her down, completely unaware of who she was, obviously. Kazehana was just playing with them but then soon grew tired of the chase. So she dodged them and ran into Minato. From there she just became obsesses with him. She keeps talking about how kind he is and what not."

"Interesting, she seems pretty serious… but how did she know that Minato was here?" Miya asked.

"Well, that's where I actually knew that she was serious about this… she has been um… stalking him since that day. So when he came here she gave me a call telling me to come out and she told me all about it. Then she asked if she could come back. Seeing as it is my job to help Sekirei meet their Ashikabi I figured that it couldn't hurt.

"So, has she told him anything?"

"No, not yet, but depending on how things go tonight, who knows how much he will know. Interestingly enough, Seo and his sekirei had came up with a cover story as to why they were chasing her so Minato thinks he knows what is going on. Kazehana had been watching and listening to them earlier today."

"I see," Miya said," Well we should probably go out there to make sure nothing inappropriate happens, who knows what could happen with both Kazehana and Matsu going after the same guy." Suddenly a demon appeared behind the landlady, "Lewd behavior is not allowed in this household."

"Ehh, Miya, its scary when you do tha- Wait, Matsu?"

Miya nodded her head, "Why else do you think she came down for dinner? On top of that she has already been watching him all night."

"Hahaha, oh that poor Minato, he sure is in for a hell of a ride," Kagari said as he picked up a tray of treats.

Together they left the kitchen carrying more sweets to take into the living room.

"More for me!" Seo exclaimed holding up an empty shot glass.

Kazehana drunkenly swaggers as she makes her way to Seo to refill his drink. I've already lost count of how many shots I have already had but being in this room with all of these people, especially Matsu constantly watching me, has got me overheated. So I decided to take a step outside.

'_Ahh, finally some fresh air.'_

I take a seat on the step on the back porch. I breathed in deeply, completely ignoring the sound of the door opening and closing once more.

"I hear you were worried about me."

I turned to see Kazehana leaning off of the wall staring down at me.

"O-Of course I was! *hiccup* I saw you being chased! By the two other girls! You guys just BAM flew down off of a building and then there*hiccup* was a whirlwind of trash and then you all disappeared!" I realized my words were just flying out, but I could barely understand what I was trying to say let alone actually control my words.

"Then!" I exclaimed as I stood up facing Kazehana, my arms flying all over the place, "You walked into the restaurant and you came to me for help! Spending all that time with you was surreal. I felt as though we were on a real date and you just seemed so nice and I had just failed my exams that morning so I was in a terrible mood but running into you was just great and- I talked to Seo-san and I know that you are a part of this group of people that are just playing this crazy weird game but the fact that you were by yourself and there were people chasing you made me worry about you! Isn't there any way that you can just leave this game, I mean if it has got you jumping off of buildings and what not it just seems too dangerous…" My sentence came to a strange end because I was unsure of what else to say.

I waited to see what Kazehana would say. She stood up straight and stepped forward so that she was right in front of me. She reached out and grabbed my hand and placed it against her cheek.

"This… game, is not something that I can leave. Though I do not care for it I am a part of it until the end, but I'm all by myself. I'm not the only one either. At first I didn't think I would want a partner, but if it's you Minato then I would like that," Kazehana said as she leaned forward and move my hand from her face down her curvy body to rest upon her hip, "Would you, Minato? If it was possible, would you like to join this secret group and be my partner?"

Kazehana leaned her whole body against mine, instantly snapping me out of any drunken state I may have been in.

"Of course I would! Kazehana is there any way that I could join and help you out?" I asked, grabbing her hips and looking her square in the eye.

"Fu fu fu fu," Kazehana giggled, "Well-"

"Hey! You guys! Get back in here! It's freezing outside and the party misses you!" Uzume called from the back door. Without even finishing her sentence, Kazehana twirls out of my hands and skips inside, "Where's the sake?!"

I stood, disappointed that things got interrupted. I quickly recovered as a gust of wind came and gave me chills and ran inside to join the festivities.

*******

'_What the? Where am I?' I thought as I looked around. I was standing in a long empty hallway. From one end there was nothing but darkness, I couldn't even see a door and on the other side there was music and light and laughter. Obviously, I went that way. I walked out of the darkness and into the lit room. _

_Everything around me changed as I was surrounded by music and laughter and people dressed in regal suits and dresses wearing masquerade masks._

"_What is this place? What is everyone doing here?" I asked a lady waltzing around near me._

_She didn't answer me however and danced around me whipping her long blonde hair after her. I moved onto another person and another, but none of them answered me. Eventually I made my way into an attached room where though they were still dressed up, the people in this room didn't have masks on. It was all people that were in the Izumo House! Seo-San, Hibiki & Hikari, Miya, Uzume, Kagari, Matsu and even Kazehana!_

"_What's going on here, you guys? Who are all these people?" I asked, hoping that one of them would at least respond._

"_We're here for you Minato-Kun!" Kazehana said throwing her arms in celebration._

"_You said you wanted to join the game, didn't you?"_

_I stood in shock as everything started to click, 'Is this it? Is this the secret group of people that play that crazy game?' I thought to myself._

"_Welcome!!" Everyone shouted._

_I looked down to see my attire had changed from my regular clothes to a suit as fancy as everyone else's._

"_Is this for real? Am I in as easy as that?" I asked._

_No one answered me this time however as everything began to fade to black and everyone's voices became distant._

"_WAIT! WHAT'S GOING ON?!" I shouted at the vanishing scene in front of me._

"…_once you are a part of the game, you can't go back…" a voice echoed throughout the darkness._

"_What? Who is this? What do you mean?"_

_The mysterious voice broke out into laughter as I fell further and further into the darkness._

*******

"Ahh!" I gasped as I jumped out of bed, breathing heavily.

'_What a weird dream,'_ I thought to myself as my eyes slowly adjusted to the dark room. '_It must have been a crazy night, I don't even remember how I ended up spending the night here.'_

"Psst… Mi-na-tan," I looked down to the foot of my bed and saw a pair of glasses glinting up at me.

"Matsu-san! What are you doing here?" I said, sitting up straighter.

Matsu crawled up the length of my body giving me a full look at her cleavage. She paused once her face was inches away from mine. "Tell me, you want to help Kazehana, don't you?"

"How did you…?"

"That doesn't matter, just answer the question."

"Yes, I want to help her, because she is all alone in this messed up game."

"Are you worried about her?"

"Yeah…"

"Would you also want to help someone else if you could?" Matsu-san asked, taking off her glasses and dangling them off of her shirt, revealing more of herself. Noticing where my attention had gone to, Matsu used one of her hands to lift my chin and face her in the eyes. '_Wow...'_

"I'm also alone in this game. Would you want to help me too, Mina-tan?"

I simply nodded my head, mesmerized by how enchanting Matsu has become.

"But, I can't… I'm not a part of it…" I stuttered as the words stumbled out of my mouth.

"You can be, Mina-tan. I can help you to be. Just know that this game is not something that should be taken lightly. Once you are a part of it, you can't just leave it."

Hearing Matsu say this brought my mind back to the dream, and the voice in the darkness saying a similar thing.

"Just think about it," Matsu said placing her glasses back on, "Come to my room in 10 minutes with a decision. I'm just at the end of the hall."

With that, Matsu lifted herself off of me and left the room and me with plenty of thoughts and questions hanging in the air.

* * *

'_She said her room is at the end of the hall, but there is nothing here.'_

"Matsu-san," I whispered, hoping that she could hear me. In front of me the wall opened up a turned just like it would for a secret passage. Unsure of what else I could do, I stepped into the darkened room.

"Matsu-san, are you in here?" I asked as I walked around blindly.

"Ouch" I walked into a desk.

"Over here," she whispered to my right. I turned and took a few steps in the direction that I had heard her voice.

"Matsu-san, why can't you just turn a light on in here?"

"Come here," she whispered in response to my question.

I continued to follow her directions until she had me standing in front of a chair.

"Sit down," she said. I did as I was told.

"Have you gotten your resolve?"

"Yes," I said, beginning the speech I had used to convince myself, "I understand that this game is serious and dangerous and even something that I can't just leave at any moment. But that doesn't matter to me. If I could be of any help to Kazehana-san, or even to you Matsu-san or anyone else who needs it then I will do it. I want to be a part of this and I will accept everything that comes with that."

At first I thought Matsu-san had left the room, but then I felt her hands placed on my shoulders, her legs straddle my legs and her breasts press up against my chest.

"Matsu-san…?"

I felt as her heartbeat quickened against mine. She leaned her face closer to mine. So close that I could feel her hot breath on my face. Her breathing got heavier as she leaned closer and closer into me. Without thought, I leaned forward the last inch closing the gap between her lips and mine. The kiss started out small but soon grew as she moaned into my mouth. I pushed my lips harder into hers causing her to moan even more. Finally the kiss slowed down and came to an end. Before I could begin to ask any questions, a blinding light filled the room as wings formed in front of me.

"Kazehana-san!" I exclaimed looking at the woman straddling me, "It was you?"

Kazehana smiled as she pushed a few strands of hair behind her ear. She kissed me again, as if to prove that it was really her.

"What happened to Matsu-san? What just happened here? What were those wings?" I asked, as even more things made less and less sense to me.

Kazehana laughed as I bombarded her with questions, "Don't worry Minato, I will explain it all to you in the morning. Let's just go get some sleep for now." Kazehana got up from off of me and pulled me up from the chair as well. She pulled me along with her out of Matsu's room and into the hallway.

'_Wait, let's? '_I thought acknowledging Kazehana's words, '_Does she mean--?' _I didn't want to start thinking about it and get ahead of myself. Soon enough, my question was answered as she led me straight into my room, or at least whichever room it was that I was sleeping in.

She pulled me down to mattress with her. I inhaled deeply as my heart rate sped up. Kazehana leaned over me and placed her head down so her mouth was next to me ear, her breath tickling me.

"Minato-kun…"  
"Yes…?"

"Goodnight!" with a quick kiss, Kazehana laid herself down and turned her back towards me. I exhaled, the breath that I didn't even realize I was holding and shook my head at myself. I could have sworn I heard Kazehana giggle, but didn't bother myself with it as exhaustion swept over me and pulled me into a deep sleep.

**********

"…you told him everything, yet?"

"No, not yet, it was just so late and I figured we should just get straight to bed."

***WHACK***

"Not like that Miya! I just meant that since we were both tired we should sleep. Though, I wouldn't have minded if we did more… Ouchhh!"

"No more talking like that in this household."

"Anyways, do you think he will take it well?"

"Well, there's only one way to find out."

"Yeah, when is he going to wake up anyways?"

"I don't know, he must be really tired…"

"Now while we wait, how about you guys help out with breakfast, downstairs. I'm sure he will be up soon enough."

Though, I wasn't fully awake, I caught most of the conversation going on outside my room. '_I guess that means that all of it really happened…' _I stretched as I thought back to everything that happened last and all the unanswered questions that I still have. '_What were those wings? And what is the real purpose of this game?' _ I knew that I wasn't going to get anything answered just asking myself for the hundredth time so I quickly fixed myself up a bit and then made my way out of the room and downstairs for breakfast.

"Hey everyone," I said, announcing myself as I made my way into the dining room. For some reason, I wasn't surprised to see Seo-san still here and actively going through the food like a vacuum. I noticed the empty seat next to Kazehana and so I sat down there.

"Morning, Kazehana-san," I said as I scooted into the table.

"Silly Minato-kun," Kazehana said as she leaned towards me, "Just call me Kazehana."

Ah, right. Kaze_hana_," my voiced strained as Kazehana placed her hand on my lap under the table and began tracing circles up and down it.

***WHACK* *WHACK***

"As guests at the Izumo House you should know better than to act so inappropriate Kazehana and Minato." Miya said.

Uzume and Matsu laughed as Kazehana pouted and I began to blush, '_I didn't even do anything…'_

"Minato-kun, I need to talk to you," Kazehana said, all playfulness gone from her voice, "Can you come outside for a moment?"

"Yes, of course," I answered knowing that this conversation will hopefully bring answers to all of my questions.

We excused ourselves from the dining room and made our way to the back porch.

* * *

"I know you have some questions," Kazehana began, "but I think this would be easier for me to just explain everything first." I nodded my head, showing that I understand and want her to continue.

She turned away from me as she continued, "Years ago, a hidden island was discovered, on which was a ship full of mysterious alien eggs. A wild man of a scientist was the one to make this discovery. He hatched and tuned the eggs along with a few close staff members. In time, he learned that each of these 'aliens' had special abilities. Once he learned that his imagination went wild."

Kazehana took a deep breath and continued to look away from me, "This scientist soon became known as the president of an influential company and the director of this game. These 'aliens' were soon known as Sekirei. The scientist has a crazy mind and saw the potential in the Sekirei so he created a game where they were released into the world to be amongst humans in order to find their destined one... Their Ashikabi. Details about the game are pretty secretive, even to some of us, but once all the Sekirei and Ashikabi have been united they are set to fight each other. The last pair remaining is the winner. This game is called the Sekirei Plan. I am one of those Sekirei. I am number 03, Kazehana. Sekirei of Wind." Kazehana finished her tale and finally turned to look at me.

"I know this seems crazy but it's the truth." To prove it she waved her hand and a small tornado appeared in front of her and then slowly disappeared.

I stared in awe, both impressed and confused.

"What happened last night?" I asked decided to at least get some sort of answer to my questions. Even if the answer will still make no sense to me.

"You winged me." She answered simply. She turned around and pulled down the collar of her dress, revealing a tattoo of a bird below her neck. "This is a sign of that winging. Each Sekirei can only be winged once. That is why it is important for us to find our true Ashikabi. Once we are winged we are with that person forever and ever. Just as I am now attached to you forever and ever."

"Is this what you meant by you can't leave this game?" I inquired finally starting to put all the pieces together.

"Yes, as a Sekirei I am bound to this game and this lifestyle, and though I don't want to. I will one day have to fight. But I can get through all of this with ease now that I have you with me, Minato-kun."

Hearing Kazehana's relief when she said that filled me with a sense of belonging and happiness.

"Regardless of the fact that all of this is still blowing my mind, I will stay with you throughout it all. I am here for you, Kazehana."

"Yay!" Kazehana exclaimed as she leapt onto me slamming my face in between her breasts, "I am so happy to hear you say that, Minato-kun. Let's go inside and tell everyone!" Before we could even make it to the door, my cell phone vibrated. "Hello?" I answered.

"Hello and welcome! You are one of the lucky few to be a part of the Sekirei Plan! As MBI's president I welcome you and hope that you bring great entertainment to the game. Good luck!" The phone beeped as he hung up.

"MBI? That's who is in charge of this?"

"Mhmm," Kazehana answered," the director of the Sekirei Plan is none other than the President of MBI."

I shook my head in amazement, "There is still a lot that I don't know about this, huh?"

"Yeahh, but that stuff can wait til later. C'mon I want to go celebrate with everyone else!"

"Wait, they all know about this too?"

"Yeah, they know some things about it for different reasons," Kazehana answered vaguely.

_'Wow, this thing really is top secret_.' I thought to myself as Kazehana herded me inside and told everyone that it's time to party. The landlady told her that it's inappropriate for a woman to party so much and I was expecting Kazehana to get hit for it, but she let it slide this time.

I took a good look around at the people in the room. All of them in one way or another play a role in this Sekirei Plan and yet they seem like everyday people... Well with a few minor differences.

"Hey Mina-tan!" Matsu called from across the room, "Don't forget, you also said that you would help me." Her glasses glinted as her words began to take meaning in my mind.

"Uhh," I said, unsure of what I can and cannot do or say at this point. Luckily I was saved by Kazehana turning around and wrapping her arms around my neck.

"Minato-kun is all mine...for now at least. We can share him later." She finished with a playful wink. My eyebrows shot up as I picked up on Kazehana's innuendo.

"Oho~ sounds good to me, it will give me plenty of chances to experiment." Matsu replied getting a sinister grin on her face. _'I'm not sure if I should be turned on or terrified..._' I thought to myself as I looked back and forth between the two.

***WHACK***

All 3 of us got hit on the head by landlady's staff.

"No more perverted thoughts out of you three."

We all mumbled an apology before kicking it into party mode.

+++Upstairs+++

Matsu sighed as she made her way out of the party area and upstairs.

"So why'd you do it?" asked a voice from the top of the staircase.

Matsu looked up and saw Kagari at the top of the stairs, arms crossed and leaning against the banister.

"I don't think I know what you are talking about, Homura-tan," Matsu said as she reached the top, standing across from him.

"You want him don't you?"

Matsu simply smiled and looked away.

"Why give him Kazehana then?" Homura asked, genuinely confused by Matsu's actions.

"You wouldn't understand. You haven't felt the cosmic pull of an Ashikabi to his destined Sekirei."

"Well thanks for rubbing that one in," Homura mumbled.

"Sorry," Matsu said off-handedly, "but it's true. The feeling of him being near is such a rush that it sends my whole body over the edge."

"So? Wouldn't it have been the same after he winged you?"

"It would have been better."

"Then why wait?" Homura asked growing impatient of Matsu's round-about way of getting to the point.

"Because for each Sekirei he gets the feeling gets stronger and more powerful. I want to experience it and see how long I can last with that rush." Matsu answered, her eyes gleaming.

"He isn't even your Ashikabi yet and you are already using him for your experiments," Homura said, shaking his head, "That poor guy."

"Don't get jealous now, Homura-tan, I still want to experiment with you and your body," Matsu said giving him a sly smile.

"Never," Homura said sternly putting up his hand as a fireball appeared in it.

"AHHH!" Matsu shrieked as she ran down the hall and into her room.

Homura shook his head again at the strange woman as the fireball vanished from his hand, "Looks like things are going to get very entertaining around here."

"HEY KAGARI! COME DOWN HERE AND TAKE A SHOT WITH US!!" Kazehana shouted from down the stairs.

Homura smiled as he made his way downstairs and joined everyone.


	5. I Have To Do What?

"Minato-kun! Where are you going?" Kazehana asked me as I got up from the breakfast table. "Though it has been a fun weekend," I began as I took my dishes into the kitchen, "I have to start going back to work." Kazehana followed me into the kitchen and stretched her arms out in front of her on the counter, "But whyyy?" she asked. I rinsed off the dishes and placed them in the dishwasher. I then stood and faced Kazehana.

"Because I still need to earn some money to pay for the rent of this place since I have had my allowance cut down."

We were back at my small apartment after two days of continuous celebrations at the Izumo Inn. Kazehana insisted on staying with me, which under most circumstances I would find completely awesome, but unfortunately I have a crazy strict landlord and if he finds out that Kazehana is staying with me I will surely be kicked out. The thought of ending up on the street freaks me out, but then I see Kazehana all happy and I remember how I got in this situation and that I know that I would risk getting kicked out for the more important issue. The Sekirei Plan. It's still a mystery to me, but I know that it is bigger than getting kicked out.

"Eh?" Kazehana jumped up and out of her relaxed stance, "That's why you are going to work? Then you don't have to bother!" Kazehana skipped off into the living room and started ransacking her bag of belongings that she had brought with her. I followed her to see what she was talking about. After tossing around some clothing, Kazehana finally came across what she was looking for.

"Check it out," Kazehana said as she held up the object in front of my face. I leaned my head back a bit to actually look at it.

"An MBI card? Is it a gift card?" I asked.

"No silly, it's a card given to each Sekirei. It's unlimited," she said with a big grin on her face.

It took a minute for her words to finally sink in, "ARE YOU SERIOUS?"

"mhmm," Kazehana nodded her head the grin still plastered on her face, "Now there's no need for you to go to work!"

"That's aweso-"I began, but then hesitated once I remembered what my mother always stressed about a gentleman never letting a lady pay for him, "That's cool and all, Kazehana, but I can't let you use that on me."

"Why not?" Kazehana whined leaning into me and drawing a finger down my cheek, "I want to use it on you…"

"As a proper gentleman, I can't let you. Don't worry though, I will work hard for the both of us," I said giving her a reassuring smile.

"Ah, Minato-kun, you are so kind. I think that's what made me know that I want you." With a quick jump Kazehana straddled my hips and wrapped her arms around my neck. "Don't go to work today," she pleaded with me. I wrapped my arms around her and walked her towards the couch. I kissed her lightly on the forehead and placed her down on the couch.

"Sorry, but I really need to be going to work," I said as I tried to unwrap her legs from around my waist, "the manager is doing me a favor by letting me work again and I can't pass that up."

"Noo, just stay here with me and I will make it worth your while," she winked.

"As tempting as that sounds, which by the way it sounds very tempting, I cannot stay. I have to go to work." I finally managed to unhinge her from around my waist and stood up over her.

"Do you really? Or are you just using that as an excuse because you are a virgin? Or maybe you just don't want me?" Kazehana finished with a pout.

I leaned over her and placed a hand beside both sides of her head so that my face was inches away from hers, "Of course I want you." With that I leaned down the last few inches and kissed her causing wings of light to glow from behind Kazehana and bounce off of the couch.

"How about this," I got up after watching the ambient light dim and disappear, "I will come home as soon as possible and then you and I can go out tonight. Sounds good?"

"Fiiiiiiinnnnneeeeeeeeeeeee."

"Bye! Be careful and watch out for the landlord!"

With that last warning I left for work.

Kazehana lounged on the couch. Then sat up straight. Then laid down on her stomach. Then rolled over on her back. "Ahh," Kazehana sighed, "It's so boring without Minato-kun."

It had been a whole four minutes since he had left.

"I'm so bored… I'm gonna go out!" Kazehana declared to herself, getting up from the couch and stretched out as she went to change into her tight purple dress.

"Ah wait, I'm not supposed to let the landlord see me…" Kazehana thought to herself biting her lip, "Oh! I know!"

Kazehana went to the bedroom and pulled the window wide open. "Here I go!" Kazehana threw her legs over the window sill and fell through. With a quick flick of her wrist she went from free falling to gliding down to the street as some wind wrapped around her and carried her down.

"There we are," Kazehana smiled as she touched ground, pleased with herself, "Now, what to do, what to do…"

'_I hope Kazehana can manage to stay out of trouble for a day,'_ I thought to myself after clocking in. I already had to talk myself out of turning around and going back to the house to check up on her. Multiple times.

"Hey kid!"

I turned around to see Seo-san clocking in right behind me. I waited for him to finish that and then catch up to me.

"Hey Seo-san. What's up?"

"Not much, just felt like doing a bit of work for the day."

"You need the money?"

"Yeah, pretty much," he answered dropping the façade.

"Same here, but if you need the money so badly then why don't you use your Sekirei's MBI card?" I asked, taking a look around to see if anyone was in earshot.

"Kid, don't you think that I would have done that if I could?"

"What do you mean?"

"Let's just say that I have had some issues with MBI in the past and because of that we got our cards taken away. MBI and I don't really get along," Seo finished with a shrug.

We continued to walk in silence as I tried to figure out what could have happened between Seo and MBI.

"So, tell me, kid, how is it going with Kazehana?" Seo asked, raising his eyebrows at me.

"Its fine, but its nowhere near what you are thinking of," I answered feeling a little awkward having this conversation at work with a guy I don't really know.

"What? You mean you still haven't? Damn, what's with you kids these days… If it was me, well, I wouldn't be out of the bedroom for a long time."

"I don't need to hear anymore, really. I just figured: what's the rush? I'm still reeling from all the Sekirei stuff I don't need to add more things into it."

"Yeah yeah… whatever you say kid…"

Kazehana walked around downtown stopping at the door of a silent building.

"Damn!" Kazehana yelled after reading the sign on the door, "Closed, again? Why are all of the bars closed? It's already noon!" Kazehana sighed as she continued walking down the street in search of the next bar.

"Ughhhh," Kazehana heard a moan coming from the alleyway ahead of her. She made her way along the wall and leaned around the corner to get a look at what could have been making that noise. Kazehana did a double-take when she saw a girl on the floor leaning against the side of the building. The girl moaned again as her stomach growled loudly.

"Hey there," Kazehana said fully emerging from around the corner, "you alright?"

The girl jumped up and looked at Kazehana and smiled brightly, "Hi! My name is Musubi and I am Sekirei number 88! I was wandering around town when these two girls attacked me so I-"

Musubi stopped as her stomach growled loudly again.

"Why haven't you gone out to get some food?" Kazehana asked, clearly confused by the girl in front of her.

"Because I have-" her voice cut off as her eyelids closed and her body fell over.

"Well, I guess I have no choice," Kazehana said with a sigh. She looked around the confirm that there was no one around and with a flick of her wrist she summoned a gust of wind to pick up Musubi's body and go back to the apartment.

"Felling better?" Kazehana asked Musubi as she brought her a glass of water. Musubi looked up at Kazehana with a mouthful of food. She made a motion as though she tried to speak but no words came up. With a big gulp, Musubi swallowed down her food and said, "Much better! Thank you thank you!"

"No problem. You know, even though you lost your MBI card you can just give them a call and order a replacement one."

"Ehh?" Musubi said, surprised enough to actually take a break from eating, "I didn't know that! I left in such a hurry that I missed out on all the information."

"Why were you in such a hurry to leave?"

"Because I wanted to meet my Ashikabi!"

Kazehana already knew that this girl in front of her has not been winged yet because she had checked for that when they made their way back to the apartment. However, she was hoping for a love story.

"Any luck with that yet? Got a guy?"

"Nope, but I know that he is out there," Musubi said with absolute confidence.

Kazehana was a little disappointed but didn't let it show as she smiled and said, "Well, I am sure that after spending all that time on the streets you would want a bath, right?" Musubi nodded her head.

"Alright then, I will go ahead and get the bath ready for you. You can go ahead and undress here and then we can get you some new clothes!" With that Kazehana stood up and walked off towards the bathroom, leaving Musubi to undress in the living room.

'_Good thing we finished up early today,' _I thought to myself as I made my way towards the bus stop, '_Now I can go home and finally make sure that Kazehana is alright.'_ I whistled to myself for the remaining bus ride until I got to the apartments. I ran up the stairs and down the hall leading to my place.

"Kazehana, I'm home!" I announced as I unlocked the door, "work finished early so I got to come home early."

I placed my jacket in the hallway closet and made my way into the living room.

"Helloooo, Kazehana? Are you taking an afternoon na-" I stopped talking once I saw a girl in my living room. A girl I had never seen before. A girl that was in her underwear.

"Uhhhh…" I said, unsure of what to do.

The girl turned to look at me and tilted her head. She seemed just as confused as I was. '_Who the hell is this girl?'_

"MINATO-KUN!" Kazehana ran out of the bathroom and jumped on me. "Oh Minato-kun, I was sooo lonely and bored without you this morning. Do you really have to go to work all the time? There's nothing to do and I have way more fun with you… What's wrong?" she asked, noticing that my attention was elsewhere.

"Who is that?" I finally asked.

Kazehana followed my gaze to the girl smiling at us from across the room, still standing there in her underwear.

"Oh! This is Musubi," Kazehana said as she left my side and linked arms with the girl, "she is another Sekrei. Musubi, this is Minato, he is my Ashikabi." She finished with a smile.

"Oh, hey there Musubi-san," I said giving her a little wave. There was a slight pause before Musubi unlinked arms with Kazehana and came charging towards me.

"MINATO-KUN!" Musubi jumped on me just as Kazehana had done, but with much more force.

"Gaaahhh!" I lost my balance and fell flat on my back while Musubi landed straddling my chest. Kazehana busted out into laughter, "Musubi, you don't have to jump on him like that."

"Eh?" Musubi looked up at Kazehana, "I thought that was how he likes to get greeted."

Kazehana put her hand out towards Musubi. I looked away as Kazehana helped Musubi stand up over me. _'Doesn't she realize how awkward it is for her to be standing over me in her underwear?'_

"Well," Kazehana began, "I think he does like it, but it was probably a bit surprising for someone he just met to do it." Kazehana leaned down towards me, "Isn't that right, Minato-kun?"

"Yeah," I answered as I lifted myself onto my arms, "I was just caught off-gaurd." Musubi finally moved so that she was standing next to Kazehana and so I stood up the rest of the way and brushed myself off. I looked at Musubi again and finally adressed her lack of clothing, "Uhh, did you want some clothes or something?" I tried to keep eye contact with her, but it proved to be harder than I thought.

"Oh no, I was just about to take a bath!" Musubi exclaimed.

"Yeah," Kazehana stepped forward,"I hope it is alright. I will explain everything to you in a bit." She looked up at me through her lashes.

"Sure, that's fine. Go ahead." I said giving Musubi a smile.

"Yay!" Musubi squealed as she began to unhook her bra.

"Whoaa!" I said, surprised by Musubi's actions.

"Ah, Musubi, you should keep that on until you get inside the bathroom." Kazehana placed her hands on Musubi's bra, holding it against her chest, which turned out to be an even more stimulating view. Kazehana turned Musubi around and faced her towards the bathroom. "C'mon, I'll even join you! We can wash each other's backs." Kazehana guided Musubi to the bathroom. She turned around just before she closed the door, "No peeking, Minato!" With a wink and a grin, Kazehana shut the door.

I plopped down on the couch and tilted my head back in attempt to keep myself from passing out because of a nosebleed.

"So you see, after I found her in such a state, I couldn't just leave her like that," Kazehana finished after telling me all about Musubi.

"Yeah, I would've done the same thing, but..."

"But what?" Kazehana asked.

"I don't really understand about this "Sekirei Plan", but is it alright? I mean, since she is another Sekirei aren't there rules that we have to follow? Does it say anything about this situation, whatever it is? And is it safe? Don't you have to fight her since she is also a Sekirei?" I asked, my words beginning to slur.

"Ah, well she is an unwinged Sekirei, and as long as she doesn't start anything I have no intention of fighting her, especially not here."

"If that's the case then I'm grateful," I said with relief, "I would like to see you go as long as possible without fighting."

"You have such a cute expression when you are worried," Kazehana said, "Don't worry, there will be no fighting for quite some time. Now, what should we do with her?" Kazehana waved her hand in the direction of the bedroom where Musubi was currently sleeping.

"It seems like she is completely passed out," I said as I walked into the bedroom to check up on her. _'She is just like a child,'_I took a look at the sleeping form in front of me,_ 'except in a much more mature body'_. I stepped out of the room before my mind began to wander too much.

"There is one problem though," Kazehana said to me once I stepped out of the room.

"What's that."

"This girl... eats a lot."

I stared, unsure of whether or not she was joking.

"I mean a lot a lot."

"Really?" I went to the kitchen to check out the fridge. Empty.

"We should probably stock up then, huh."

"Yeah, it seems like she will be asleep for quite sometime. I am sure she will be fine if we leave."

"Alright, let's go." We grabbed our shoes and jackets from the hallway closet and left the apartment.

Musubi's nose scrunched up as she slightly stirred in her sleep. She tried turning over but to no avail. She finally stretched her arms and legs and opened up her eyes. She saw a closet and a desk in front of her she turned over to see an opened door and a nightstand. Musubi didn't recognize any of this. She sat upright on the bed and did a complete 360 of the room in hopes of jogging her memory. At the foot of the bed was a towel. Seeing this reminded Musubi that she had just taken a shower with someone else.

"Ah! Kazehana!" Musubi exclaimed as she finally remembered. Musubi waited and listened to see if she can hear her friend outside of the room. Nothing. "Kazehana? Minato?" Musubi jumped off the bed and walked out the door leading to the hallway.

"HellooOOoo?" Musubi called out. She checked the bathroom. The living room. The kitchen. Nothing. There was no sign of them anywhere.

Musubi felt of wave of panic coming on, but then she told herself to be calm. "Oh well, I guess I can just wait," Musubi plopped down on the couch and jiggled her feet. Then her stomach growled. Musubi froze, " I guess I am still hungry. I can eat while I wait!" Musubi got off the couch and went into the kitchen to open up the fridge. Nothing. She closed it, waited 10 seconds then opened it back up again. Still nothing. She searched the cupboards. The pantry. Even under the sink. Nothing. Musubi's calm finally faltered as she reached a state of panic. "Noooo!" Musubi cried out. She dragged herself out of the kitchen and flopped face down on the couch sobbing into the cushions.

A knock on the door made Musubi's head shoot up.

"Kazehana! Minato-kun!" Musubi ran for the door and opened it up for them. She jumped on Minato, " I was so worried! No one was here and I was so hungry! Where is Kazehana?" Musubi asked as she looked around to see no one but the man that she was on top of. The man, Musubi confirmed by looking down, that was definitely not Minato.

Musubi jumped off of the man and took a few steps back.

"You aren't Minato... Hi, I am Musubi. What's your name?"

"Where is Minato?" The man asked.

"I don't know, when I woke up him and Kazehana were gone. I hope they are getting food..."

"Kazehana? Another woman? What in the world does Minato think he is doing?"

Musubi finally picking up on the strangeness of this man asks again, "Uhmm, who are you?"

The man looked at Musubi square in the eye and said, " I am Minato's landlord.

"We've got enough food to last for a few weeks," I said looking at all our bags, "We got both take out and plenty of groceries."

"I dunno. If Musubi continues to eat the way she did, all of this might not even last one week," Kazehana commented.

"Good point, we might have to put her on a diet," I joked. We finally reached the top of the stairs leading to the apartment.

"Hey Musubi! We are home!" I announced as I opened the door.

"Minato-kun!" I dropped down the bags and planted my feet as I braced myself for impact as soon as I saw Musubi charging towards me. She jumped and I caught her, giving her a spin to lessen the blow.

" I hope you didn't worry on your own," I said as I put her down.

"Nope! Because I wasn't on my own!" Musubi pointed to the living room.

I looked to see what she was talking about and there, in my living room, sitting on my couch was my landlord.

"Oh shit."

"Minato," the landlors began, "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?"

"Well, you see..."

"No! It doesn't matter what you say! You are in diret violation of your apartment rent rules..." '_This is going to take a while, _I thought to myself_, look how red his face is getting. "_Futuremore, I thought you were a responsible college student, but you have gone and created a harem under my nose!" '_If this was a harem shouldn't there be at least 3 girls? Now that would be a party. Maybe get a blonde in this mix.'_

_"_Minato! Are you listening? I want you out! In no more than 3 days!" The landlord finished and left leaving no time for anyone else to speak.

"Shit." I repeated.

"Minato, what should we do?" Kazehana asked, her voice ringing with concern.

"Well, we have 3 days, so I guess we should start apartment hunting."

"Musubi will help!" Musubi exclaimed.

"Thanks, we can start in the morning. For now let's eat and then get some rest."

Musubi helped Kazehana unpack the groceries while I set the table for dinner. I turned on the tv and flipped through news channels.

"Anything interesting?" Kazehana asked as she brought the take out to the table and placed our food in front of us.

"Nope nothing, just some overgrown plants," I answered as I changed it to a movie.

"Itadakimasu," we said in unision. We ate in silence and watched the movie.

"Ahh," Kazehana said as she stretched out against the couch, " I am stuffed."

"Yeah me too," I yawned, "and sleepy." I looked over to see that Musubi was already fast asleep, I laughed as I nudged Kazehana to take a look.

"What do you think we should do about her?" I asked.

"She is harmless, and homeless. We should help her."

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking too. As long as she doesn't have an Ashikabi then she is no threat, right?"

Kazehana nodded her head, "Yup, that's right."

"Alright then," I said as I placed my arms under Musubi's torso and legs, "let's get her to bed. I hope you don't mind sharing a bed with her."

"Well," Kazehana began as she led the way to the bedroom, "I would much rather share the bed with you, but I guess I can live with it."

"What a noble sacrifice you have made," I mumbled to myself. I shook my head in disbelief at the girl in front of me. Kazehana pulled back the bed sheets and stepped aside so I could place Musubi down in the bed. I pulled back up the sheets and brushed a few strands of hair out of Musubi's face, "Goodnight, Musubi-san."

Musubi wrapped her arms around mine and mumbled, "Minato-kuuuun..." I looked up at Kazehana standing on the other side of the bed.

"Looks like someone has a crush," she said with a grin.

"Heh, she is only saying that cause she is asleep." I tried to pull my arm out of her grip but failed. Kazehana stifled her laugh as I continued to squirm around trying to free my arm. Musubi grunted and turned her body to the side flipping me over her and landing me on the other side of the bed. Kazehana looked down at me and doubled over in laughter.

"Maybe she isn't as helpless as we thought," I said to Kazehana with a laugh, "Care to help me out?"

"Sure sure," Kazehana said once she recovered from laughing. She walked around to the other side of the bed and leaned over Musubi. I watched silently as Kazehana slowly inched her face towards Musubi's. Finally Kazehana brushed her lips against Musubi's nose. Musubi scrunched her face as an immediate reaction. Kazehana did it again and this time she got the reaction that she was hoping for. Musubi used one of her hands to swipe at her nose. I took this opportunity to retrieve my arm and gave Kazehana the thumbs up. I slid out of the bed and walked towards Kazehana, "Goodnight Kazehana." She stepped forward and kissed my nose as well, "'night Minato-kun!"

I left the bedroom and grabbed some blankets in order to make myself more comfortable on the couch.

_"Here again?" I asked myself as I took in my surroundings. Yet again I was in that long empty hallway. Without even a glance in the other direction I walked towards standing between me and the party._

_I swung open the door and announced my arrival, "don't worry everyone! I have arrived!" I figured the people I know would be happy or at least laugh while everyone else would just ignore my presence entirely. I was wrong._

_Everyone stopped and stared at me through their renaissance masks. A few seconds pass that feel like forever. Finally everyone turned away and continued their chatter._

_'Well that was different.' I walked around the palatial place looking for a familiar face. Or at least a real face. He looks around and sees a woman with long blonde hair and serious eyes beneath her mask. He also sees a man standing against the wall surveying the room with a sword on his hip and a smaller guy standing next to him jumping up and down like an eager child. After circling the place, I felt as though I was actually stuck in this room with a group of strangers. Just as I was about to give up, someone bumped into my side._

_"Ah sorry, I didn't mean to bump into you like that it is just so hard to see with this mask on," said the girl as she recovered her balance and brushed herself off._

_"Oh no worries it is okay."_

_Upon hearing me speak her head shot up and she inched her head closer. I couldn't make out much through the mask other than squinting eyes._

_"Minato-kun?"_

_"Uhh, yes?"_

_"Ah it is you!" She slid down her mask and let it dangle from her neck. It was Musubi._

_"Wow it is so much easier to see with that off."_

_"Hahah, I'm glad. It is good to actually recognize someone here. I haven't seen anyone else that I know and everyone is so intimidating with their masks on."_

_"Yeah, I don't know why we have to wear them. I guess it is just one of the rules."_

_"Rules? Wha-" I stopped as I felt a tug on the side of shirt. I looked down to see a little girl in a gown with a mask on._

_"Hi there," I said as I bent down to her level._

_She said nothing. She just grabbed my sleeve and began tugging it. I looked up to Musubi, "Do you know her?"_

_"Nope, but she wants you to follow her."_

_"To where?"_

_" I dunno, but I think you should just go with her."_

_"Alright, I'll be back then."_

_I stood up while the girl grabbed onto my hand and led me through the crowd._

_"Where are we going?" I asked, with little hope for a response. All I received was another tug as I was pulled along the room and back towards the door that I had come from. The noises from the party turned into a low hum as the door closed behind us. She was taking me to the other door. _'_What's behind there? Guess I'll find out soon enough.'_

_The girl stopped right in front of the door and dropped her hand. She didn't say anything or even indicate that I should go through the door, but I knew that's what she wanted me to do. Expecting nothing but another dark room, I swung open the door... and was blinded by light. I threw my arms up to shield my eyes from the brightness and the wind. 'Wind? Where is that coming from?'After a minute my eyes were mostly adjusted and I began to realize where I was. I was outside, which was my first surprise, and I was on top of a building. A skyscraper. As I took in. The sight around me, I noticed a person in a labcoat at the railings. I walked towards the person and got within 5 feet of them. Even from here I couldn't quite tell whether they were a guy or a girl._

_"It's about time you showed up," they said, their voice echoing around me. The voice was definitely one that I had heard before._

_"What are we doing here?" I asked._

_"There are some out there that need your help."_

_"Who? Who needs my help?"_

_"Sekirei."_

_"Which ones?" I asked_

_"All of them."_

_"All? How am I supposed to help all of them? What about the other Ashikabis?" I asked hoping for some insight, getting more confused and anxious by the second._

_"It is only.... you need... save..." The voice began to fade away and cut off as the wind around us picked up and fog began to roll in. The fog came in so fast and so dense that I could no longer see the person infront of me. I reached out with my hand to find the person in the lab coat. I took a few steps forward but touched nothing. I took a few more steps forward and still nothing. I walked some more at a faster pace and hit the low rail and began to flip over it. I grabbed the bar and clung to it for dear life. I steadied myself back onto the right side of the rail and breathed deeply._

_'That was close... But where did that person go? I can't see a damn thing.'_

_As if on cue the fog dispered and the wind calmed. I looked around, turning my head so fast that I nearly got whiplash._

_The person was nowhere to be found._

_I gave up and headed back towards the door. Inside, the little girl was still standing there._

_"Did that person in the labcoat ...come through here?"_

_About halfway through my question the girl turned and ran._

_"You have got to be kidding me," I muttered to myself as I began to go after her down the hallway and back towards the party. I ran after her but the distance between us grew. I picked up speed but it seemed like I wasn't getting any closer. The hallway stretched out in front of me as the girl began to disappear from my sight. Everything began to black out around me and I pushed myself harder to escape the darkness and catch up to the girl. The harder I tried the more rapidly the darkness grew around me._

_Soon, I was enveloped by black air._

_The words 'Help them' echoed around me as I began to freefall into the abyss._

I jumped up from my sleep and placed my head in my hands. _'Something tells me things are going to get interesting.'_


	6. This Will Be Fun

"Alright so I'm off to work." I announce as I finish up breakfast.

"But Minato-kun, what about looking for a new place?" Kazehana asks, stretching out along the length of the couch.

"Yeah," I call from the kitchen, " that's why I am only doing a half day today, so I should be back after lunch. Then I can get started on the apartment hunting."

"I can help with the search too."

"I CAN HELP TOO!" Musubi darts into the room and jumps me before I manage to brace myself, knocking me down. This time however, she was unfortunately dressed in more than just her underwear.

"Thanks, you two, that would be great," I say as I wait for Musubi to get up, "I'll give you a call when I am on my way back from work then." I get up and brush myself off, while Kazehana just shakes her head laughing.

"See you guys later!" I grab my jacket from the hallway closet and head off to work. _'At least I don't have to worry about them getting into any trouble with the landlord anymore.'_

"Where should we start looking?" Musubi asks as they make their way out of the apartment and down the stairs.

"Eh? We can't start looking yet, we haven't had anything to drink!" Kazehana says as she grabs Musubi's hand and pulls her in the direction of a restaurant.

"Is there anything else I can get you two?" the waiter asks shocked at the sight of the two beauties in front of him. One of them eating more food than he does in a whole day, while the other one is already on her fifth refill of sake.

"Oh aren't you just a sweetie," Kazehana says, reaching a finger out and stroking his cheek.

The waiter begins shivering, obviously nervous at Kazehana's touch and quickly squeaks,"ah-just let me know if you need anything," before darting back towards the kitchen.

"Oh, guys are more fun when they are so innocent," Kazehana says to no one in particular.

Turning to Musubi she asks, "What do you think about Minato-kun?"

Musubi looks up with her cheeks plumped up with food, before swallowing it all down and saying," I like him! He is nice and funny too."

Kazehana perks up at hearing this,"Would you ever consider staying with him? Doing _that_ with him?"

"I think it would be a lot of fun! Do you think he would let me? That would be..." '_wow, I didn't think she would be so into it already,' _Kazehana thinks to herself. "That would really be great," Musubi continues," I bet Minato-kun would be really good at it too. He has probably been in a lot of fights before!" Musubi finishes, pumping her fist in the air, ready for battle.

Kazehana can't help but laugh at herself, '_Of course she wasn't thinking of this in that way. She is so innocent too. So much more entertaining.'_

"Well then we should find a place for all of us if you ever want a chance to do that with Minato-kun," Kazehana calls the waiter back over and hands over her MBI card.

"Nothing yet?" I ask while I wait at the bus stop.

_"No we, haven't managed to find any place for the amount you want to pay. Are you sure you don't want to just put it on the card? It is what it is meant for, and. I can't think of some ways for you to repay me for it." I can hear Kazehana's sly smile through the phone._

"It's okay, we will find something I am sure of it," I reply as I stare out the window, "Ah! I've got an idea! I'll call you later!" I nearly drop the phone trying to hang it up while pulling down on the rope in the bus, "Stop! I need to get off!" The bus screeches to a halt and I jump off and dash down the street, '_I know it is around here somewhere,' _I think to myself as I continue running.

I run around the corner and begin to slow down, looking around more carefully at all the buildings around me.

"Minato? Is that you?"

"Meet you where? . . . What are you doing there? Okay okay we're on our way," Kazehana hangs up the phone and turns toward Musubi, "Looks like Minato-kun found some place. Let's go!"

Kazehana looks around to make sure that no one was watching before flicking her wrist and jumping in the air as a gust of wind carries her to the nearest rooftop. Musubi instantly leaps into the bouncing off buildings to keep up with her.

"So because your landlord saw that you had two girls in your apartment, you are getting evicted and have to find a new place to stay in 3 days?" Uzume asks, as I bring over our coffees to the table she chose.

"Yeah, it's not exactly an ideal situation, but. I couldn't just leave Musubi out, and Kazehana was sure that she wanted to stay with me, and I'm not an idiot to say no to her." Uzume laughs and takes a sip of her coffee.

"So, what are you going to do? I'm guessing you were running around the neighborhood for a reason...?"

"Well, I remembered that when I was at the Izumo Inn last time, there was an empty room that I had slept in. So... I was going to ask Miya-san if I could rent. I'm actually glad that I ran into you first," I lean across the table, "because Miya-san is kind of scary."

I couldn't help but smile while listening to Uzume's musical laugh.

"Yeah, Miya can be pretty intimidating, but I can promise you that she would definitely take you guys in."

"Really? That's great! Once Kazehana and Musubi get here we will go over there and ask her formally. This is a great weight off my shoulders." I sighed with relief.

"I'm glad, having a stressed out expression doesn't suit you. You look much better when you're drunk" she teases.

"Me? What about you? You should've seen yourself, dancing and singing and _falling_ all over the place." We laugh and continue the banter back and forth until I hear a-

"Minatoooooo!"

I turn in time to see Kazehana gliding down along the side of the building across the street, with Musubi leaping down behind her.

"Kazehana! Look who I ran into," I say, pointing to Uzume, "Guess what, she thinks we can move into the Izumo Inn. Isn't it perfect?"

"Wahh, that's great! All the great food and booze!"

"Izumo Inn?" We all turn to Musubi who looks like a lost child, tilting her head.

"Dont worry," Kazehana says, stepping towards her and wrapping her arm around hers," you're gonna love it."

"Let's go then!" Uzume jumps up and pulls me up with her. We start walking over with Uzume and I linked together while Kazehana and Musubi are following behind. Uzume begins to pick back up the discussion of who was a more entertaining drunk, and we fall back into it laughing after every comment. I give Uzume a nudge saying, "Just admit it, you were a way more funny drunk." A chilling wind picks up before Uzume manages to open her mouth.

"Ahh, why did it get so cold?"

"well I'll give you my jacket if you admit that I am right."

"Fineeee, you were right, I was the funnier and much cuter drunk."

I shrug off my jacket and place it around her shoulders, "I don't remember saying anything about being cute."

"Yeah, but I know you meant it," she replies winking up at me. '_Well cute is one way to put it I suppose.'_ My train of thought is cut short as Kazehana comes up on my other side and tucks herself into my side. "Well don't you two look cute together." she comments, just loud enough for me to hear. Though she didn't sound jealous or upset, I know there was more meaning behind those words. However, I simply smile and lean over and kiss her on the cheek, knowing that that is the best response I could give.

"We're here!" Uzume detaches herself from me and skips on ahead. Musubi starts smiling and leaning forwards just like a child, while Kazehana and I, knowingly, take a deep breath and cross our fingers.

"Helloo, I'm home, and I've brought guests," Uzume calls out as she saunters through the door. We follow her inside and into the living room. "Why don't you guys wait here while I go see where Miya is?" She walked around the corner into the kitchen calling out the occasional "hello?" We sit down and settle into the couches. I stare at the blank television screen in the corner, while Musubi gets up and walks around the room picking up various items.

"Be sure to be careful with that, it was my husband's."

All three of our heads turn around to see Miya stepping in from the back porch. I immediately get up and take the sculpture from Musubi's hands and place it back on the shelf.

"Hello Minato."

"Hello Miya-San, sorry for dropping in on you like this. We actually came here with Uzume, she went to go find you, but I don't know where she is now," my speech begins to pick up and my words start to blend together.

"Relax Minato-kun," Kazehana wraps her arms around me from behind.

"Right... Miya-san, I would like to rent a room here. We are being kicked out of my apartment and I cannot let these two go without a roof over their head. I cannot pay much, but I can do household duties if needed. So, please, will you take us in?"

"You are a good man, Minato-kun, and I would be insulting the memory of my late husband if I do not help you out. There will be no rent, but there will be duties, those who do not help, do not eat or sleep in the Izumo Inn. Is that acceptable for all of you?"

"Yes!"

"This is fantastic, thank you!"

Kazehana makes her way over to the cabinet with all the sake, while Musubi jumps up and hugs me.

"I believe we have not met yet," Miya says, inclining her head towards Musubi.

"I am Musubi, number 88, a close combat style sek-"

"YES, this is Musubi, and Musubi this is Miya-San, your new landlord." I finish, shaking my head in disbelief.

Miya laughs, "You seem fun, it's nice to meet you. We should probably let the other tenants know of their new housemates."

"Too late," Kagari enters the room with Uzume right behind him, beaming. He starts towards me holding out his hand, "Welco-"

"Minato!" Uzume jumps at me. I catch her with my hands at the top of her thighs, while her legs wrap around my waist holding herself there. She leans out so she can look me in the face, which also makes her waist push into mine, "This is going to be so great, Minato. We are going to have so much fun!"

_'I am beginning to have some fun already,' _I think to myself as she continues to move in my hands.

Kagari pointedly coughs, and Uzume jumps down while we both just laugh.

"Let's celebrate!" Kazehana announces and she holds up two bottles of sake.

Miya politely excuses herself from the room, before things get out of control, while Uzume and Kazehana line up shots for everyone. I introduce Kagari to Musubi, who instantly wants to challenge to a fight because he looks so strong. I begin to try to explain to Musubi that she can't go around challenging people to fights, when I start to get a strange feeling. I look around the room to see if anyone else noticed something weird, but they were all busy talking or drinking. _'Matsu?,'_ I think to myself, remembering that she is the only person missing from the room. As soon as the thought at formed in my mind I saw glasses glinting from the kitchen.

"Matsu-San? Why don't you come out of there and join us? We are going to be living together after all."

Matsu emerges from the kitchen, and comes over to me, "This should be interesting. I look forward to it, Minato-sama." She leans in and whispers in my ear, "Don't forget, you need to help all of us."

I hold her hips and stare at her, "What did you say?" Trying to find the connections between her words and my dream. She just smiles up and me and slides my hands away before going off to join the others.

I get about 5 seconds to try and figure out what Matsu was saying before Kazehana pulls me over to them and hands me a glass. I figure: why bother thinking about something when there is a celebration going on?


End file.
